Former Indy 500 winner joins Penske after bumpy Sprint Cup run with Ganassi.

CHARLOTTE, N.C.—With a chance to start over and maybe drive in any series he wanted, Juan Pablo Montoya thought long and hard about what mattered most at this stage of his career.

The answer was simple: winning.

So when a team owner synonymous with success put an offer in front of him, Montoya snapped up the opportunity. He’ll leave NASCAR behind for a return to open-wheel and drive for Roger Penske — the IndyCar Series rival of Montoya’s longtime boss, Chip Ganassi.

“He’s very excited for me,” Montoya said Monday after texting with Ganassi, who is in Europe. “. . . We have a lot of respect for each other. He had to make a decision this year to go in a different direction. I had to do the same thing.”

Ganassi decided in August that Montoya wouldn’t be invited back next year. It put the Colombian on the free agent market. He spoke to Michael Andretti about an IndyCar ride, and Furniture Row Racing about replacing Kurt Busch at the end of the NASCAR season. There were calls to Europe and rumours of a test with Lotus in Formula One.

Then came discussions with Penske, a team that has won 15 Indy 500s, and all bets were off. Montoya will join current IndyCar points leader Helio Castroneves and Will Power. He could also drive in some NASCAR races as part of the deal.

“I really wanted to be in a winning car,” he said. “In a way it’s always been one of my dreams to be able to be part of (Penske’s) organization. Being here, it’s unbelievable. I’m so excited. I’m like a 5-year-old kid right now.”

Some will see the move as gamesmanship in the racing rivalry between Ganassi and Penske that spans two series. Castroneves and Ganassi driver Scott Dixon are locked in a fierce battle for the title, and the competition has heated up over the last two races as Dixon has been involved in incidents with Power.

“(Montoya) is a great driver and deserves a great drive,” Ganassi told The Associated Press. “He will have that there at Penske Racing.”

Montoya won the 1999 CART title, 2000 Indianapolis 500 and 11 open-wheel races for Ganassi. He then moved to Formula One, where he had seven wins and 30 podium finishes, before reuniting with Ganassi in 2006 in NASCAR, where results were poor. Montoya has just two wins in 244 career starts and never finished higher than eighth in the season standings (20th this year).

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